Category: Entertainment

It’s hard to get past Neville Talbot when writing about Albany Sinfonia, the state’s first regional orchestra.

The man is a musical polymath.

Ostensibly the orchestra’s artistic director, he is also its conductor, producer, arts manager and administrator, as well as teaching music, percussion, voice, choirs and band at Albany Senior High School.

His apparently unlimited enthusiasm and ability to organise resulted in the latest treat for music lovers at the Albany Entertainment Centre last Friday and Saturday, titled Beethoven: the Full Four Quarters.

Actually Ludwig didn’t show up until the second half, but the audience was completely taken with introductory offerings such as Handel’s stirring Zadok the Priest and Bach’s Concerto for Oboe d’amore*, plus Oblivion by Piazzolla, both of which showcased the great talent of Mt Barker-born soloist Leanne Glover, who now plays with the WA Symphony Orchestra.

The Albany Chamber Orchestra performed with distinction, as did accompanist Marius Mulder.

We also welcomed back mezzo soprano Courtney Weaver, who sang Saint Saens’s Printemps qui Commence, and bass Mark Alderson in Vaughan Williams’s Silent Noon.

New to Albany – and more than welcome – were soprano Stephanie Gooch, with Rusalka’s Song to the Moon, by Dvorak, and tenor Jun Zhang, whose spirited Nessun Dorma, by Puccini, brought the first half to a dramatically satisfying close.

Three marvellous movements from Beethoven’s fifth, seventh and third symphonies – performed by a 100-strong combination of Albany Sinfonia, the Albany Chamber Orchestra and Albany Youth Orchestra – provided a thrilling lead-in to the climax of the night: the last movement of the Symphony No 9.

Soloists, players and the Albany Choral Society came together in a memorable performance of this timeless classic, which the composer, because of his deafness, could never hear. We, in the audience at AEC, considered ourselves twice blessed to hear it for him.

*Not seen or heard much these days, the oboe d’amore (oboe of love) is a slightly larger version of the standard instrument and has a more plangent sound, rather like that of another relative, the cor anglais.

THE Albany City Wind Ensemble (ACWE) is taking it from the top with another entertaining family concert next weekend.

Director Sue Findlay promises a program packed with popular classics from musical greats such as Scott Joplin, George Gershwin and Henry Mancini.

In what has become their signature style, the line-up for the June 24 concert at Albany Baptist Church will again include laughs and unexpected twists.

“Nothing is ever what it seems with the ensemble,” Ms Findlay said with a wry smile.

Three brave pianists will play 57 well-known tunes on one piano at the same time and special guests, About FACE will join the fun with their own style of entertainment which will include Il Divo singing and roosters.

“I love to surprise the audience during my concerts and catch them off guard,” Ms Findlay said.

“There is nothing quite like the laughter of a happy audience.”

Through a live re-enactment, the audience will also be treated to a rare glimpse of the “nearly-extinct” species of animal, the trombonasaurus.

In another first, ACWE will screen the world premiere of the silent movie Jan.

Ms Findlay said ACWE has been in rehearsal for four months and are ready to hit the stage.

They have taken delivery of a brand new concert bass drum, which will feature in its debut performance.

“We’ve added the spit and polish and can’t wait to let loose on our audience,” she said.

The show kicks off at 7.30pm on June 24 and tickets are available at Uptown Music, at the door and online at www.albanycitywindensemble.com.au

AUSTRALIAN UK-based folk-punk troubadour, Benny Mayhem, is returning to his home town Albany to perform with his band on Sunday.

Benny recently released his new single Song For Absent Friends.

Written in a hotel room in the Austrian Alps, the song is a mix of Benny’s trademark folk-punk sound with Sunnyboys-style Australian power pop and a touch of Californian punk.

“I lived in Albany for 11 years, growing up at Middleton Beach, Lower King, Spencer Street and Burgoyne Road,” Benny said.

“My family moved around a lot, but each place had its own magic.

“Hearing the railway shunting at night, walking the jetties and wharves, bushwalking and fishing are all happy memories. And the rain on a tin roof.

“I have a song called Kinjarling, the traditional name for Albany in the Menang Noongar dialect, and means ‘place of rain’.

“I wrote that when I was 29-years-old and it describes many of my fondest memories.”

Sunday’s gig will be Benny’s third trip to the region since he first returned as a solo musician in 2014, helping with the Anzac Albany commemorations.

He performed at the Stirling Terrace Mess Hall and conducted workshops at TS Vancouver naval cadets, where he and his father were once cadets – as well as at Denmark TAFE.

Benny moved to Perth with his family in 1994.

“We didn’t intend to stay away for long, but in those days the big city had many more opportunities than we had in the county so I lived there for the next 18 years,” Benny said.

“I threw myself into the original music scene where I was very active for a long time – especially with my punk/rock’n’roll band Project Mayhem, which is how I became Benny Mayhem.

“The old band were very successful locally and performed for 10 years straight. We were a band of buddies and eventually we decided we all needed to do something else for a while.

“I had never travelled, so I moved to London. But I didn’t really have much of a plan of what to do when I got there.

“So I did what came naturally and became a full-time professional musician.

“I took every opportunity I could and that took me right across Europe, including the UK, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

“I’m now able to take that experience and build on it here in Australia and especially WA, which is my home and a place that will always be dear to me, wherever I may find myself.”

Benny will perform his own brand of folk-punk at the King River Tavern, Millbrook Road, on Sunday May 21.

Tickets will be available at the door.

By ANNE SIMPSON

THE Opening Night of The Sound of Music was received with rapturous applause last Friday, as Albany again showcased its formidable talent in one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most popular musicals.

Ever since it hit the screens in 1965, The Sound of Music has won the hearts of millions, with generations of fans still charmed by its unashamedly sentimental and whimsical story and timeless music.

And once again, under the directorship of Anne Davidson, the Albany Light Opera and Theatre Co (ALOTCO) has demonstrated it can take on any challenge and produce a sell-out season of eleven performances before the first curtain goes up.

It didn’t matter that most of us knew the story and the songs back to front and word for word.

We just wanted to sit back for a night of nostalgia and smile indulgently as Maria did her best to become a nun, before she won the hearts of the seven von Trapp children, and their father, through lots of singing, dancing and fun.

We silently sang along to all our favourite songs, and soon adjusted to the variations in the stage production, compared with the film, and barely noticed a few changes in some of the songs and events.

The costumes and scenery were superb, and the three-hour show never missed a beat or a do-re-me.

Each role was well cast, with the whistle-blowing captain Georg von Trapp played to perfection by James Turner.

Newcomer to ALOTCO Mollie Hare was delightful as Maria, with a strong voice and a natural acting ability that beautifully captured the essence of her demanding role.

The cheery nuns in the abbey were all blessed with glorious voices and were led by the versatile Carmen Fasolo as Mother Abess.

Carmen’s powerful rendition of Climb Every Mountain was one of the highlights of the opening night’s performance.

As expected, the von Trapp children stole the show.

Bonnie Staude (Liesl) looked as though she had just stepped out of the film and onto the stage, and amazed the audience with her amazing voice; Hudson Bell, (Friedrich), Bella Fasolo (Louisa), Kye Stewart (Kurt) and Josie Staude (Brigitta) slipped confidently into their roles, while Rosie Talbot, who performed at opening night, will take turns with Jessica Turner playing Marta.

The part of Gretl, the youngest member of the family, is being shared by Madison Bradford and Asha Lewis, both of whom have produced heart-melting performances.

Tom Croucher, who stepped in at the last minute when Todd McGregor became ill, excelled as the self-serving, witty Max Detweiler, while Azi le Page made an impressive ALOTCO debut as Baroness Elsa Schraeder.

Last but certainly not least, a round of applause must go to musical director, Hayley Burns and the orchestra for another excellent performance.

DANI Flynn is in heaven.

She’s checking on her horses and has a guitar strapped to her back.

It seems she has everything she needs.

We’ve agreed to meet at the windswept block of land high above the Southern Ocean where her horses roam.

We’ve spent the previous hour or so volleying questions and answers in the corner of a nearby café as she tries to summarise where she stands as a musician and as I try to grapple with the incongruity of equine-infused folk-jazz.

Once we jump the gate and wander the hillside waiting for the horses to show their faces, it all becomes clear. Flynn has such a deep affinity with her horses that it simply seeps into her music.

She is a kinesiologist by day and practises acupressure on humans and horses.

But she is also a sweet singer who can move effortlessly between folk and jazz as though there is no clear distinction and she knows her way around a guitar too.

Musically, Flynn is perhaps best known along the South Coast as one half of the duo, Freya’s Bounty, with bassist Madeleine Winton.

The pair have had no shortage of work over the past few years, but the grind of playing to noisy pub crowds with their backs turned took its toll on Flynn, who has bunkered down to write and record a solo album.

She says turning inwards with her music has helped rekindle the need to play.

The writing process for the album so far has been a mixed bag.

Flynn says she spent a lot of time working on a particular song that is dedicated to a friend she lost recently.

She worked tirelessly to get the song right and could concentrate on nothing else until the job was done.

But with the song done, the lid has been lifted on her creative output with ideas for words and melodies popping up at any time of the day or night.

She has half-a-dozen songs down for the album, which have flowed with a lot more ease.

“It’s often when you’re busy doing something else or you’re driving along that a line for a song will just jump out,” she said.

“So you’ve just got to stop and write it down before it disappears, which is a bugger when you’re running late.”

Flynn hasn’t set a deadline for the album’s completion, so we’ll just need to watch this space while she goes to work.

– Anthony Probert

ALBANY Sinfonia’s 21^st birthday party matinee show at Albany Entertainment Centre on Saturday proved to be an afternoon of pleasant surprises.

The gala concert program  looked to the past and the future with its variety of classical and popular numbers and strong support from guest acts. As a community orchestra, Albany Sinfonia has always had the performance of classical pieces at its heart.

But the collaboration with prodigious vocal talents and leading cast members of Albany Light Opera Theatre Company’s (ALOTCo) forthcoming production, The Sound of Music, highlighted the broad appeal that has grown on the orchestra.

For classical fans, Dambusters March was a stirring way to open the show before the first of the guests took to the stage soon after.

Vocalist Bonnie Staude, an Albany Senior High School student, gave a truly uplifting performance of The White Cliffs of Dover.

It would have been a treat for her to have the backing of an orchestra and a reward for Albany Sinfonia to have this rising star taking their music to another place.

After a quick interlude with Tchaikovsky’s  Cappriccio Italien, Staude was back on stage with the ALOTCo crew for The Sound of Music medley.

Audience members who already have tickets to this forthcoming show would have been grinning from ear-to-ear at this tantalising sneak-peek.

Mollie Hare, as Maria and Carmen Fasolo, as Mother Abess, didn’t stand in Staude’s shadow for a moment and together with James Turner, playing Captain Von Trapp and Evan Ayers as Rolf, highlighted the region’s depth of talent.

Sinfonia artistic director Neville Talbot has heightened the ambitions of the group since he came on board, but asks nothing of the members he wouldn’t be prepared to do himself.

Taking the lead on the hammed-up Always Look on the Bright Side of Life was a great example, proving Talbot is the just the sort of ambassador the Sinfonia needs to take it through the next phase of its life.

Following the intermission, complete with birthday cake and party food, the program continued to offer something for everyone, from the William Tell Overture to the Pirates of the Carribean theme.

Again, the addition of vocalists gave the Sinfonia wings.  Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu, with Staude, Sabrina Ives and the Take Note Choir out front, was heavenly and a show highlight.

Local vocalists in front of a local orchestra, in a world-class local venue – not a bad way to spend your 21^st birthday.

– Anthony Probert